Win A Date With Seto Kaiba!
by Jackman's-Girl
Summary: SETOxTEA FIC. Basically like "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton", except... Well, look at the title and figure it out for yourself. Eventual SetoxTea romance, so if you don't like the pairing, don't read the fic!
1. Chapter One: The Publicity Act

A/N: This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic, so please be nice. The whole story is slightly based upon the movie "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!" so you can guess that it's romantic comedy type. Normally I'd never try this but the idea wouldn't leave me alone. So please be kind, read and review, and I'll do a review-reply at the start of the next chapter for those that did review.

This is a Téa/Seto fic, so if you don't like the pairing, don't read this. I really mean it. I don't want people flaming just because of the pairing. If it truly is a shit fic, flame me then, but not because of the pairing. We're all allowed our own thoughts, ideas, opinions etc. and I like this pairing. So if you're not a Téa/Seto fan, **STOP READING HERE AND NOW! I'M WARNING YOU! IF YOU FLAME BECAUSE OF THE PAIRING, THEY WILL BE LAUGHED AT AND IGNORED, AND I'LL JUST END UP CONTINUING THE STORY ANYWAY!** Whoa. Okay, I think that's enough.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!, so don't sue me! However, I do own Téa's friend. And without further ado, let us begin the story!

* * *

**Win A Date With Seto Kaiba! **

**Chapter One**

Téa reached under her desk and pulled out her bag. School had ended just over half an hour ago, but she was behind in her Maths work, so she had to stay behind and finish it. Everything was rushed though, because she had a dancing lesson to get to.

Finally Téa finished, and she crammed everything back into her bag, practically running as she left the school. She had her dancer's uniform on under her clothes, so she was running the risk of getting very tired very quickly, but she'd rather be tired than late.

As she ran through the streets of Domino City, her brown hair flowing out behind her, she passed a few suites waiting outside a café. They were looking around with their usual sour expressions, and they glared at Téa as she ran past them. They were obviously waiting for someone of high status.

_They might be waiting for Kaiba._.. Téa thought as she continued running to her destination. _He's practically the only rich, snobby person that lives in this city. But I'm surprised he'd actually have his little meeting outside – he rarely leaves his little tower!_

Téa forgot about them as she left them behind, concentrating on where she was going. The dance studio was just ahead, and she stopped at the road when a bus went past. Because she was concentrating on the bus and not the rest of the traffic, she stepped out onto the road and a car ran over her foot.

Téa instantly jumped back and held her foot in pain as the car screeched to a stop and the passenger window rolled down. "Watch where you're walking, Gardner!"

Téa looked up when she heard an unmistakable voice that was angry and cold. Seto Kaiba's irritated blue eyes met hers, and she glared right back at him.

"You better hurry off Kaiba, I saw some corporate suits that are missing you at a meeting!" she snapped at him, and smiled cockily. The window rolled up and the car drove away, turning the corner and heading towards the café where she had seen the men.

She cursed Kaiba as she headed to the dance studio, her foot almost feeling numb. As she pushed the door open, her friend Elise ran up to her, already in her uniform. The blonde smiled at her friend.

"You were almost late, Téa!"

"I had to stay back at school to finish some work." She mumbled as she changed out of her school uniform. As she finished, the door opened and two of her friends walked in: Joey and Yugi. She smiled and went over to them.

"Hey Téa!" Yugi said, smiling.

"Guys! What are you doing here?" Téa asked, shifting her weight off her injured foot.

"We had nothin' to do, and Tristan was busy, so we thought we'd come here and check out ya moves!" Joey said, just as lively as usual.

"Thanks for the support, but you'll make me nervous!" Téa had to stop talking because at that moment her instructor entered, and she had to start.

She managed to dance for half an hour before her minor injury affected her moves. In one move she had tried to equal the weight so she could support her foot, but she slipped and landed hard. Everyone gasped and ran to her, and Yugi was one of the first to get to her.

"Are you okay Téa?" he asked, and she held her ankle in pain. "Someone get an ice pack!"

"What happened? Why'd you fall?" Elise asked as she kneeled at her friend's side.

"I... had a little accident on the way here. It's alright, really!" Téa said, trying to get to her feet, but they pushed her down.

"What happened?" Yugi asked, and Teá looked at him.

"I was on my way here, and my foot got sort of... run over by Kaiba's car." She explained, wondering why she was being so careful in explaining it. It wasn't like she _cared_ about Kaiba!

"Kaiba! That jerk! I swear I'm gonna get him so bad!" Joey shouted, and he ran out of the dance studio.

_Oh great, now I've got Joey out for revenge. Jeez, why'd I have to bring Kaiba up? I could've made something up! I'm such an idiot!_ Téa thought as she sighed in exhaustion and pain.

Yugi watched her face, kneeling beside her, holding her hand every second of her downtime. He bound the ice pack to her ankle, and he blushed when she smiled and thanked him for his help. Téa was totally unaware of his crush on her, as Yami was of her crush on him.

But in some way, it didn't matter, because he'd never get up the nerve to tell her how he felt about her.

* * *

Seto was late for his meeting, but he didn't care. Since when did his partners care? Hell, a group of them had planned his downfall previously, and ever since then he'd had sour feelings towards every single one of them.

"Mr. Kaiba sir? Your car is waiting." Seto's assistant said from the doorway, and with a sigh Seto stood, closing the laptop before him and placing it in his briefcase. He took it with him as he left KaibaCorp, sitting in the passenger seat of his sleek, deep blue Porsche.

He had some idea of what his partners wanted to talk about; Seto had plans for a new virtual reality device that would aid beginner duelists, a device that would help them become better in all aspects of the game.

Of course, Seto didn't design it himself; oh no, he couldn't give a damn about new duelists. The inventor had come to Seto with the idea, and, after realizing it was a goldmine, he agreed to produce the new gadget. That just proved how cold hearted he could be sometimes.

Seto and his partners were to meet at a café in the heart of Domino, where they'd discuss the company's progress. They were only about a hundred meters from the café when there was a sudden bump, and Seto growled in anger. The window rolled down, and he stared in shock at who was sitting on the footpath. It was that annoying cheerleader, Téa.

"Watch where you're walking, Gardner!" he said, his annoyance in both his blue eyes and his cold voice. Téa looked up at him, anger appearing on her features.

"You better hurry off Kaiba, I saw some corporate suits that are missing you at a meeting!" Téa snapped at him, and he couldn't help but smile arrogantly. Annoying people was a favourite pastime of his, and it was extra special fun when he could taunt one of Yugi's friends. With that he rolled up the window and they drove on to the meeting place, which was conveniently just around the corner.

As soon as Seto got out of the car, some of the waitresses squealed in excitement and ran into the café, totally forgetting about the clients they were meant to be serving. Seto just rolled his eyes and approached his partners, who offered him a seat.

"This had better be quick." Seto muttered angrily as he sat down, his glare focusing on one of the two partners.

"Mr. Kaiba, although KaibaCorporation is one of the most successful companies in the world, if we are to become more successful, we need you to present a better image." One said.

"What do you mean?" Seto asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"You may be popular with the women, but you are portrayed as being "cold and heartless", as one reporter said. We need you to take part in a publicity act that will boost your image."

"Publicity act? Haven't you realized I don't care about how I'm received? Is this what you dragged me out here for?"

"Mr. Kaiba, it may not be as important to you, but it's for the good of the company. If people can see you in a different light..."

Seto cut him off, standing and slamming his fist on the table. "I don't care what people think!"

"Mr. Kaiba, everyone agrees it's in the best interest of the company, so could you please just here out the offer?"

Seto sighed in anger and sat down. _Why the hell am I still here? I should be upturning the table, firing them and storming back to my limo! What the hell's wrong with me?_ He thought, tapping his fingers against the glass table top.

"We propose an act raising money for charity. Perhaps the Domino City Orphanage, since that seems to tie in with your childhood. One suggestion that caught our attention; a competition, and whoever is chosen gets to go on a date with you."

Seto looked dumbstruck for a moment, before he began laughing out loud uncontrollably. A few people around him looked over in his direction, but he didn't notice. When he finished laughing, he was completely out of breath. "That was a good one."

"We were serious, Mr. Kaiba."

Seto looked at them, a grin still on his face. "Fine, do what you want. I really couldn't care." With that, Seto stood and left his partners. He hopped in his limo and was soon heading back to the KaibaCorp building, where his secretary informed him that his cook, and housekeeper, had quit.

Seto sighed and got back to work. He'd have to find another employee now. That was just perfect. He'd have them all lined up at his door, trying to seduce him into letting them work for him by wearing revealing clothing. Sheesh, some women...

He pressed a button, and the secretary's voice came up on the intercom. "Yes, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Put an ad out that I need a cook and housekeeper A.S.A.P." Seto said, and then he got back to his work. That stupid meeting had eaten up most of his work time; it was going to be a long day indeed.

* * *

Téa's foot seemed to have gotten slightly better since her accident, so she stayed the night at Elise's house. Elise, like pretty much all of the other girls in Domino, had an obsession with Seto Kaiba. She was a part of his internet fan club, and quite proud of the fact as well.

Téa had spent the rest of her dance lesson sitting on the sidelines with Yugi there with her. While sitting there, she had gotten a call from Joey, saying that he had gathered Duke and Tristan as well, and were planning revenge on Kaiba. He didn't give exact details on the form the revenge would be like, but she could hear Tristan and Duke sniggering in the background.

It was insane; Téa had always hated Kaiba, why did she suddenly want to protect him from the wrath of her friends? Yes, he might've been above standards for many of the girls, but Téa had never thought of him in that way. In her eyes, he was a selfish, cold hearted bastard that didn't care about anyone but himself.

_That's not true, and you know it,_ a voice in the back of her head said. _He cares deeply for Mokuba – he risked his own life for him. He cares for him more than anything else in the world. More than his titles, more than his company, more than anything._

Téa ignored the little voice in her head and turned her attention to what Elise was doing. She had gone onto the official Seto Kaiba Fan-club website, and was clicking a box that said "Competitions". The page loaded quickly, since she had cable net, and when all the pictures loaded fully Elise screamed out loud, scaring Téa half to hell.

"What's wrong?" she asked, looking at her friend.

"Oh... My... God..." Elise murmured, still staring at the screen. She was trembling with excitement.

"What? What is it Elise?"

"It's... a new competition and the prize... Listen and you'll figure it out: "Win a Date with Seto Kaiba!""

"No way," Téa said, looking at the screen carefully, as if believing she was seeing things. "No way would Kaiba allow himself to do something like this!"

"You print out a registration form, fill it in and send it off with one dollar enclosed in the envelope. A winner will be picked at random, and all proceeds raised will go to the Domino City Orphanage fund. Aw, how sweet!"

"Ha. I almost thought Kaiba was out of money, and he had to resort to ripping off his fans to pay for all that junk he has." Téa spat, regretting the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. She didn't want to sound that rude.

"That's harsh Téa. He may not be the nicest person in the world, but he has a heart, and he wouldn't do something like that." Elise said, deadly serious. Téa stood and headed for the bathroom, wishing she could believe her friend.

"Don't be so sure, Elise." She murmured under her breath, before leaving the room. Elise waited until Téa had shut and locked the door before she printed out a copy of the form and looked over it, an evil grin on her face. She'd do this as a way of getting back at Téa for saying all those mean things about her precious Seto.

_Participants name?_ She read in her head. _Ha. The participant's name is **Téa Gardner**._

* * *

A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. Also, just so the reviewers know, the Battle City season of Yu-Gi-Oh! hasn't completely aired over here on TV. I think the last episode we saw was the one where they were on the blimp and Marik defeated Bakura. I dunno, I can't totally remember. So if any of the characters left to go somewhere else after the end of Battle City, please tell me in your reviews – it would be much appreciated.

Oh yeah, I haven't seen "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!", so that's why this fanfic is only slightly based on the movie.

Please review with your thoughts, but don't flame me!


	2. Chapter Two: The Competition

A/N: OMG... I can't believe I got reviews!! I was so afraid that I'd get none, and if I did, they'd be flames, but I didn't! WOOHOO! Okay, perhaps I should calm down. Thank you to everyone that read and reviewed, it means a lot to me... I just really hope I don't stuff this fic up... Alrighty, review replies!!

**Review replies**:

**CWolf2**: (grins) I'm glad I've got the characters right do far, it's got to be one of the hardest things ever... I hope I can keep your attention through this, I'm so nervous of stuffing up... Anyway, thanks for your review!

**Miryoku**: I'm glad you enjoyed it, and now here's chapter two for your enjoyment! Thanks for the review!

**Marin M**: I agree; Téa/Seto fics are the best! Thanks for telling me who left, I'll have to work something out for why Duke is back... Thanks for reviewing!

**Dustbunny3**: I'll be sure to check for spelling errors. Since I'm Aussie I tend to spell things differently, but I'll check for mistakes anyway. LOL, yes, Elise is evil... (starts laughing) You're the only one that thought that, go you! Hm, I hope you enjoy how this all works out, and thanks for your review!

**e hardy**: I hope I don't ruin your expectations of this, but I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. And since you don't really like Téa/Seto fics, it's a big deal to me that you liked this. Oops, I'm rambling. Anyway, thank you for reviewing!

**toboewolf7**: LOL, yeah, poor Téa, what will happen? I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, so here's the second! Thanks for reviewing!

**KeikoGurl**: I'm glad you thought it was funny, and I'm happy you love it! I hope you enjoy Téa's reaction! Thanks for your review!

**LuvinAnime**: OMG, HOW FREAKY!! I wasn't going to post this for fear of being flamed, but WOW! HOW WEIRD! I'm glad you think I'm doing well so far, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for your review!

**thefutureMrs.Kaiba**: Well, here's the second chapter! Enjoy, and thanks for reviewing!

**White Roses**: Thanks, I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for your review!

Disclaimer: In how many different ways can I say that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

**Win A Date With Seto Kaiba!**

**Chapter Two: The Competition**

Mokuba wanted to stay up and help his brother work, even if he was going to be more of an inconvenience than a help. Seto would never be so rude to think of his brother as an inconvenience, of course, but Mokuba wasn't always a help to his brother's work. Take tonight, for example.

He had been trying to be kind by bringing Seto coffee. The coffee machine in his office had broken, you see, so Mokuba was being nice and bringing his brother a cup. When he entered the room, Seto was no where to be seen, so, curious, Mokuba had gone to look at what Seto had been working on. That's when Seto, blinded by being deprived of sleep, had bumped into his younger brother, sending the coffee all over his laptop.

A few seconds later realisation kicked in, and Seto sent Mokuba running from the office with a mere glance at him. As he was running he heard the shouts of anger and the sound of sparks from behind him, and Mokuba didn't stop running until he had reached his room. He had locked the door too, just to make sure that Seto didn't get in.

That brings us back to the present. Mokuba was standing against the door, his mop of black hair just as wild as ever. He shot a glance at the clock and sighed. It was midnight. He was lucky it was Saturday, but then again, Seto would've made sure that he was asleep if there was school the next day.

Mokuba sighed again and walked to his bed, slowly and reluctantly slipping under the covers. He shivered and curled up, hugging his Blue Eyes White Dragon plush toy as he tried to warm up. He closed his eyes, trying to will himself to sleep.

He opened his eyes when he heard the wind blowing fiercely outside, and he shivered again. As his eyes strained to get used to the absence of light, he heard a creaking sound. Mokuba hated to admit it, but he was still slightly afraid of the dark. Being kidnapped and locked away in a castle by Pegasus had had its negative affects.

Meanwhile, outside, three camouflaged figures were slipping over the fence and crawling towards the bushes, their precious equipment safely in their bags. They had been watching the guard movement patterns for around a week, and they had devised a plan that was flawless. They'd make their move soon.

Back inside the Kaiba Mansion, Mokuba was finally starting to fall asleep when a loud splattering sound came from his window. Frightened beyond belief Mokuba bolted upright, shaking. He paused for a moment, his eyes on his window, waiting to see if there was a repeat. His breathing had finally slowed when there was another bang, making the younger Kaiba brother jump again.

He moved to the window, pulling across the curtain to see the three figures, their faces hidden, throwing eggs at the mansion. Yes, eggs. There must've been at least three cartons each left in their open bags, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun. Amazingly, the security guards hadn't spotted them yet.

Mokuba turned to call for Seto, but as he did he found his older brother entering the room, a glare on his face. He instantly crossed to the window, surveying the scene. He pulled out a mobile and shouted into the phone at the guard that answered, telling him to hurry up and arrest those that were disfiguring the mansion.

The three saw the guards approaching them quickly, and Seto opened the window to get a better view. Just before the ring leader ran, he threw on last egg and shouted out, "That was for Téa ya big jerk!" Then he ran, climbing the fence quickly and running down the street.

"Seto?" Mokuba's voice pulled Seto from his angry trance, but he didn't take his eyes off the slowly disappearing figures. He looked to his right and saw the egg slowly dripping down the wall. No one could mistake the voice that had shouted out to him.

"That stupid mutt is gonna pay." Seto said, his fatigue seeming to have disappeared. He went straight to his office and picked up his phone, flicking through the phone numbers on his Teledex(1). He was going to go straight to the source of the problem.

* * *

Téa was sleeping quite peacefully when a sudden sound woke her. Her eyes snapped open and her arm shot out, hitting the top of her alarm clock. However, when the sound didn't stop, she pushed herself off her mattress and realised that the phone in her room was ringing.

Slightly confused, she picked up the phone, stifling a yawn as she answered. "Hello?"

"Gardner, what the hell did you do?!" Téa's eyes widened when she heard that voice. It belonged to Seto Kaiba; why was he calling her, and why at _this_ time? And what was he going on about?

"Kaiba, why are you calling me at this hour?" Téa mumbled, not failing to sound angry and tired at the same time. Seto almost laughed on the other end of the phone.

"Don't pretend that you don't know. That mutt Wheeler and two of his friends came around to my mansion and bombarded it with eggs, saying that they did it for you! What the hell did you tell them?!" Seto burst out, hurting Téa's eardrum.

"Look Kaiba, I don't know what you're going on about, so don't go about making assumptions! I didn't tell them to go and egg your house!"

"They did it in your name, Gardner! If you don't take action, then I will!" With that, Seto hung up, leaving Téa in a raging mood. How dare he call her up and tell her to take action against her own friends! He was ordering her about like she was some maid of his!

Téa shook her head and lay back down. _Stupid Kaiba... What the hell is his problem? Mokuba must've gotten all the kindhearted genes..._ Shortly after, she fell asleep her thoughts still on that cold hearted teen that she hated with all of her being.

* * *

_A few weeks later..._

The whole of Domino City had found out about Seto's publicity act, and it had soon turned into a national event. Even people from different continents were sending in forms, even though they ran the risk of being too late to compete. The Orphanage fund ended up receiving over one thousand dollars, and the Kaiba Mansion was sent thank-you cards every day.

Even though his partners had said that the winner was chosen at random, they had given Seto all of the forms; they wanted him to go on the date with someone he'd actually like. However, no explicit details were given, so it was basically a stab in the dark.

Seto settled down in his leather chair, sighing from exhaustion. He looked at the pile of forms before him; the stack was about half a meter high. He had tried to start earlier, but he had got a major headache from just looking at the pile. How could so many girls want to go on a date with him?

He sighed and started looking over the forms, the pile slowly decreasing as he spent hours looking over the hopeful competitors. As he looked over one of the forms, a shocked expression crossed his face. This person was a guy! Seto instantly put that form in his paper shredder; he would be surprised if that didn't haunt him for the rest of his life.

Seto put his head in his hands and cursed his partners. Why did they have to make him go through this hell? As he looked over another form, simply with the name "Elise" on it, he threw it onto the "No" pile and left; the winner was going to be announced tomorrow, but he needed to get away from it all. The "No" pile was the same size as the original pile – so far he hadn't seen a form that had caught his attention.

Mokuba watched his brother leave the house from the window, then, very curious, he entered his brother's office and looked over the piles. _No wonder Seto's all stressed out,_ Mokuba thought, picking up a form in the "No" pile. _There's gotta be at least one thousand forms altogether here!_

Mokuba was about to leave the room when a familiar name caught his eye. He turned back to the pile that Seto hadn't gone through and looked at the form that was sitting on the top. He had been right, it was a familiar name; on the form it said _Téa Gardner_.

_Why would Téa be entering though? She doesn't like Seto! But... What if she does? Why else would she enter? Well, I guess it's better than Big Brother going on a date with a complete stranger!_

With that, Mokuba folded up the form and slipped it into his pocket, leaving the room exactly as it had been. His brother wouldn't know, and it would be better if he didn't. At least this way, Seto wouldn't do something rude and throw her form into the paper shredder.

* * *

Elise had managed to keep the fact that she had entered Téa into the competition a secret, but she herself was extremely excited and nervous at the same time. Going on a date with Seto Kaiba – the Seto Kaiba – had been a dream of hers ever since she had seen him on TV. Imagine if she won?

Of course, Téa found it to be the biggest crack-up of the century. There were many articles in the papers – some speculated, some guessed and others started rumours, but no one knew the real reason why Seto had reduced himself to it. It probably wouldn't boost his image very well if they knew he had agreed to do it to make him more popular.

Téa had confronted Joey about "avenging" her. It had turned out that Tristan and Duke had been helping Joey egg the Kaiba Mansion, so she gave all three an earful when Joey owned up.

"What were you guys thinking when you went out there?! You could've gotten yourselves in more trouble than you could handle! You're lucky Kaiba didn't call the police and put out an arrest warrant for you, Joey! You were asking for trouble!"

Yugi had been watching from the side, and when Téa finished he had a both shocked and amused look on his face. Neither one of the three boys felt like explaining themselves after hearing that, so they simply stared at the ground with ashamed looks on their faces.

"We were gonna use Joey's money to buy paint instead of eggs, but he spent it all on Duel Monsters cards..." Tristan muttered under his breath, and luckily Téa didn't hear him.

However, Téa gave Seto a second thought that day. He hadn't been attending school lately, even if it wasn't so compulsory for him. She almost wondered if she felt worried about him. She hadn't seen him at school since the Battle City tournament had ended, and that must've been around two months ago. Well, if ever he ever called her again at midnight, she'd ask him.

She had become watchful when Elise was around. The girl was always getting jumpy whenever Téa talked about the date competition, and she was starting to get suspicious. Sure, she had the right to be excited and nervous, but she was simply acting weird.

"They're doing a huge telecast of the announcement tomorrow at five. There've been all these articles in the paper, and Kaiba's getting more publicity than ever before. Don't you reckon it's time for him to drop this act?" Téa asked Yugi as she walked with him to the Game Shop.

"I dunno, Téa. He might not be doing this for the publicity. After all, he can just walk down the street and have girls scream and faint when they see him." Yugi replied, walking with his hands in his pockets, his eyes on the pavement.

Téa laughed but agreed with her friend; Seto Kaiba didn't need any more publicity. He was probably doing it for some selfish reason of his own, not to help anyone but himself.

_There you go again with your thoughts of hatred. He _has_ a heart, how many times do I need to remind you?_ That voice had returned, and her brows furrowed in confusion. Was this meant to be her conscience? Ha, if it was, it was in love with Seto Kaiba.

_Wait,_ Téa thought, something coming to her all of a sudden. _My conscience is a part of me, and if it likes Kaiba, does that mean that I like him?_ Téa narrowed her eyes, disgusted at herself. _No, I'm not thinking thoughts like that. That's wrong, just wrong._

Téa brought herself out of her thoughts and entered the Game Shop, forgetting all her problems for the mean time as she just concentrated on Yugi and Duel Monsters.

* * *

Seto looked over the pile of forms, feeling unusually depressed. He had to miss hanging out with Mokuba so many times due to work, he barely slept and now he had this. He would be surprised if he was able to keep his eyes open when he did go on that cursed date.

He really wanted a vacation. Just some time off to spend with Mokuba; he was afraid that if he didn't let his brother know how much he cared for him, he would grow up being cold and spiteful towards everyone around him. Just like he was.

His partners had been correct in their assumptions; people had started thinking that Seto wasn't so bad after all. That made it even worse; he hated to lose, but he hated being wrong even more. But still, it could be worse; at least that stupid cheerleader Téa hadn't entered. If she won, it would be torture.

He sighed and pulled a form from the pile and phoned one of his guards. A moment later the man appeared at the door.

"Yes Mr. Kaiba?"

"Make sure this gets to the man that's presenting the telecast tomorrow." Seto said, sounding bored. He gave the man the form and then sat back in his chair, closing his eyes and falling into a dreamless sleep.

The man had placed the form into his pocket when he left, so it was quite easy for Mokuba to make the switch. He had been hiding behind a door, so when the guard came out, he silently and softly grabbed the form and slipped in Téa's in its place. He smiled triumphantly at his accomplishment, then went off to his room, excitedly awaiting the next days events.

* * *

_The next day..._

Téa had convinced Elise to go clothes shopping after school, just in case she was the "lucky" winner. Elise had seemed a little distressed, but she agreed to going. Téa wasn't fond of shopping, but she'd do it for her friend.

They spent quite a long time shopping, and Elise pretty much went psycho, afraid that they'd miss the start of the telecast. They caught a cab back to Téa's house, and made it in the door just as the telecast started. They had made it into a spectacular event, with it appearing on six different channels. Before they even announced the winner, they had famous bands playing songs, and almost everything under the sun.

Elise sat right in front of the TV, her nose less than thirty centimetres away from the screen. Téa yelled at her, and the girl finally moved back. The presenter appeared on the screen, and began talking.

"Welcome back! And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... We're about to announce the winner of the "Win A Date With Seto Kaiba!" competition!" The man was handed an envelope, and he opened it. "Cross your fingers, ladies all over the world! The lucky winner of the competition is... Miss Téa Gardner of our very own Domino City!"

Téa's eyes widened and she fell off the couch she had been sitting on. Slowly Elise turned around and looked at her, shock clearly on her face; her simple joke for revenge had backfired.

* * *

In the Kaiba Mansion, Seto had turned on the television just because he was tired, and the TV always put him to sleep. However, when he turned it on this time, he was jolted wide awake. How did this happen?! He went through every form, and not one of them had her name on it! How on earth did this happen?

"The lucky winner of the competition is... Miss Téa Gardner of our very own Domino City!"

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed that. It was a pretty uneventful chapter, but I couldn't resist making Téa find out. If you thought it was crap, tell me so, and I'll work on making chapter three better.

(I didn't know if Mokuba was afraid of the dark, so I just made him like that here. If he isn't normally, please forgive me!)

(Also, I didn't know if Téa was a shopping freak, so I just said that she didn't really enjoy it. After all, I haven't heard her say "Let's shop!" whenever she and the gang have free time.)

(1) Teledex – Don't know if these things go by that name in other countries, but a teledex is something we have here (in Australia) that holds all of your phone numbers.

Please review, and thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter Three: The Date

A/N: (drops to knees) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FORGIVE ME! MY COMPUTER CRASHED AND I WASN'T ABLE TO UPDATE! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!! Anyway... O.O Wow. Reviews galore! I've never got so many before! It's insane! Anyway, thank you to everyone who read and reviewed that chapter, it means a lot to me... Chapter three's here, so I hope everyone enjoys it! First off though, the review replies!

**Review replies:**

**thefutureMrs.Kaiba**: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. I hope you like the date! Thanks for the review!

**Dustbunny3**: I wasn't sure about Mokuba being scared of the dark, so I just added it in. If he's not, I'll make sure he isn't scared anymore. Anyway, thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter, and now here's the new one!

**CWolf2**: THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THIS ON YOUR FAVOURITES! Thanks for your review!

**The-Hope**: Hehe, I'm gonna torture Seto... Nah, can't torture him, he's too cool to torture. You'll see the date in this chapter, hope you enjoy it... Thanks for reviewing!

**Marin M**: LOL indeed, poor Téa. Her life's about to get a whole lot worse because of this date. Thanks for your review!

**Kairi Kaiba**: Yep, Téa and Seto are both very pissed. Here's the new chapter, and thanks for the review!

**KeikoGurl**: I don't think I could make Téa and Seto fall in love instantly. Mainly because Seto despises her, and she feels the same for him. So they won't fall madly in love, don't worry. I'm glad you found that chapter so funny, hopefully this one will be just as good. Thanks for reviewing! (Warn me in your reviews if the characters are going oc, k?)

**LuvinAnime**: Thanks for thinking so highly of this; it really means a lot to me. And Elise is feeling guilty, but wait til you see Yugi's reaction! (evil laugh) I hope I don't get him out of character in the process though... Oh well. Thanks for your review!

**snowflake**: I'm glad you liked Joey's revenge... Was it really that funny? I hope you enjoy the date – it's a bit short, but my friend thinks it's okay... Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**lime333** (replies to chapter one and two reviews): I'm sorry about the lack of suspense, but the story is just starting, so nothing interesting has happened yet... I'm glad you've enjoyed this so far, hope you like this chapter. Thanks for the review!

**black-angel-chick**: Thank you for your praise. Here's the next chapter, and thanks for your review.

**Mysticblue453**: I'm gonna try to finish this, but it won't end at this chapter, oh no! They still have to fall in love! Thanks for reviewing!

**Mokuba's Official Glomper**: I'm glad you find it so funny! Thanks for your review!

**Ash13**: How about Yugi getting sad? Is that better or worse than jealous? Oh well... Thanks for your opinion anyways. Thanks for the review!

**toboewolf7**: I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long... If I have, please forgive me!And about the review reply, this is how I think of it – you took the time to review, so I must thank you. Thanks for your review!

**Anya-06**: I'm happy you find it so funny, and thanks for reviewing.

Disclaimer: Once again, I must state that I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! I'm doing this for fun, so don't sue!

* * *

**Win A Date With Seto Kaiba!**

**Chapter Three: The Date**

"No! It's absolutely out of the question! I am _not_ going on a date with _her_!"

From outside the room, Mokuba listened to Seto yelling at his business partners. He had both hands over his mouth and was desperately trying not to laugh. This was just too funny, even though it was a matter of life and death for Seto.

"Mr. Kaiba sir, you don't have a choice. The girl was announced yesterday, and you can't just say that you don't want to go on the date because you don't like the winner. What would that say about you?" One of the partners said, and Mokuba heard a loud bang. He guessed that Seto had just slammed his fist down on the table.

"That's not the point! The point is that I didn't see her application form! This has all been rigged for people can see me squirm!"

"Mr. Kaiba, you have no choice in the matter. You agreed to do this, and you can't go back on your word now. The date has been organised for tomorrow evening; we'll send you the details tomorrow. Good day, Mr. Kaiba." Without another word, the business partners left the room.

Mokuba moved out of the way of the door, and watched the men leave Kaiba Mansion. He then turned and peeked through the open door, seeing Seto in his chair, head in his hands, his eyes closed. It was nine-thirty in the morning, but Seto still had the blinds closed. Mokuba warily entered and looked at Seto, worried.

He walked to the blinds and pulled them open, watching light flood the room. Seto moved his head so the rays of sunshine wouldn't get in his eyes, and Mokuba saw that Seto looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. "You can't live in the darkness, Seto." He murmured softly, and Seto sat up slowly, looking at his younger brother.

"I don't understand Mokuba. I looked through every one of those applications, and I never saw Gardner's name."

Mokuba put his hands in his pockets, feeling somewhat guilty. He had thought he'd be helping his brother by doing this, not making him feel worse. "You've been real busy lately, Big Brother. You might've been really tired while you went through the forms, and that's why you didn't see Téa's name. Don't worry about it too much, you'll just get stressed."

Seto smiled. "I don't get stressed, Mokuba." He sighed. "You're probably right. I need some rest." Seto stood and looked at his younger brother. "I promise, when all this dies down, I'll get away from work. We can do anything we want, and we won't have to worry about KaibaCorp."

Mokuba felt like he was on the verge of tears as he caught Seto in a huge hug. Seto was a little surprised, but he hugged Mokuba back. The younger Kaiba brother had never seen Seto so serious, so it meant a lot to him. After a moment Mokuba let go of Seto and walked happily out of the room. Seto watched him leave and sighed again to himself. He hoped he wouldn't get Mokuba's hopes up and then kill them at the end.

As Seto closed the doors to his study, his thoughts landed on Téa. He couldn't help smiling evilly: she was about to endure the most annoying fifteen minutes of fame in her entire life.

* * *

The phone had been ringing non-stop, the paparazzi had found her house and she had been featured in the papers. This was getting annoying, and Téa really wished the publicity would stop. _This is probably what Kaiba goes through. I swear I'm gonna _kill_ the person that entered me into that competition!!_

_Last night..._

Téa fell off the couch when her name was read out as the winner. This had to be some kind of stupid joke – she didn't even enter the competition! Why would she _want_ to? She stared at the screen and saw Elise turn to face her. Her face had a shocked expression on it and her eyes were wide with surprise. The silence was broken when the phone suddenly rang, and it broke Téa out of her trance.

She got to the phone and picked it up, instantly hearing a lot of talking and yelling in the background. "Hello?"

"Téa! It's Joey! Were you watchin' the telecast?" Téa held the phone away from her ear when she heard Joey's voice – he was practically yelling.

"Don't yell, Joey! Yes, I was watching the telecast!" Téa said back into the phone, and Elise heard a knock at the door. She was about to open the door when she looked through the window; there were about five girls there, and they had huffy expressions on their faces.

"You didn't tell us dat you were gonna enter! I thought you hated Kaiba like da rest of us!"

"I _do_ hate Kaiba, Joey! I wouldn't enter even if my life depended on it! Someone entered me into the competition!"

"Okay, hang on..." In the background she heard Joey whistle. "Oi! Guys! She said she didn't enter!"

Téa instantly got worried. Joey was with people, probably her friends, and now they'd start to think that she _wanted_ to enter. The number of people at the door had now grown, and they were slamming their fists against the door.

"Téa? Is Joey telling the truth?"

"Yugi?! What are you doing there?"

"Joey wanted me and Tristan to go over his house after school so he could practise Duel Monsters, and we were about to leave when we turned on the TV. So did you enter on purpose?"

"Yugi, I--" At that moment Elise let the people at the door into the house, and they instantly barged towards Téa. One grabbed the phone and hung up on Yugi, making Téa snap. "Why the hell did you let them in?!"

* * *

Téa snapped herself out of her thoughts and sat down on the stairs. Who would want to enter her into the competition? What would it accomplish? She'd still hate Kaiba just as much at the end of the day, so if someone was trying to play matchmaker, it wouldn't work.

At that moment the phone rang, and Téa jumped to her feet and ran to the phone, hoping with all her heart that it was Yugi. She needed to apologise for what that stupid woman had done last night. But as she answered the phone, her hopes were crushed.

"Is this Miss Téa Gardner?" a male voice asked.

"Uh... Yeah. Who is this?"

"I'm Mr. Chambers from KaibaCorp, and I was calling to inform you that the date you won last night shall be held tonight. Mr. Seto Kaiba will personally pick you up at seven thirty. Please be ready."

"O-kay..." Téa was a bit dazed by the man.

"Thank you for your time." With that, Mr. Chambers hung up, leaving Téa staring at the phone. _Well, at least he was polite, _she thought. _Unlike "Mr. Seto Kaiba"._

Téa put the phone down, turned on her stereo and began to dance. As she moved, she saw the clock out of the corner of her eye. It was twelve thirty – only seven more hours until the torture began.

* * *

Across town, in a fast food restaurant, Yugi was staring downcast at his burger and fries. Why had Téa hung up on him? Did she not want to talk? Did she really enter the competition because she actually _liked_ Kaiba? Had she made that reason up? But then again, she'd never lie to him... Would she?

"Yo Yug, if you don't hurry up and eat dat, it might get too temptin'" Joey said from across the table, his mouth full of food. Yugi looked up after a second, then pushed his burger across and started sadly munching on his chips.

"What's up, bud?" Tristan asked, and Yugi sighed.

"Oh, it's nothing... I just don't know what's going on with Téa any more... I thought she _hated_ Kaiba!"

"Course she does! If we made up a "Kaiba Haters Society", she'd be first ta join! Well, first behind me, course." Joey said, managing to cheer Yugi up just a little. Then a look crossed his face. "You know, that ain't such a bad idea! We should really start up dat club! We'd sure get a lotta members!"

While Yugi managed to smile while Tristan sweat-dropped. Joey had that stupid grin on his face and was rubbing his hands together like he had just struck gold. The smile slowly faded from Yugi's face, and his friends noticed.

"Seriously Yug, Téa hates Kaiba, just like tha rest of us. Nothin's ever gonna change dat."

Yugi sighed and sat back in his seat. "I guess you guys are right. What am I worried about? But still... I think I might ring her later, just so we can figure out all this."

At that moment, Elise entered the restaurant. Upon seeing Yugi and the gang, she went over to them, but only Yugi noticed how nervous she seemed. She was wringing her hands together and looking over her shoulder, like she was afraid a serial killer was going to jump out from behind her.

"Hey Elise, whatcha doin' here?" Joey asked, moving over to offer her a seat. But she held up her hands and shook her head.

"I came to ask you if Téa was with you, but I can see that she's not. Um... Is she at home?"

"I hope so. Why? What is it, Elise?" Yugi asked, starting to get worried himself.

"Oh, nothing. I... just had to tell her something important. Bye!" Elise quickly left, leaving the three very confused.

* * *

It was now a quarter to four in the afternoon, and Téa had finished everything that had preoccupied her from the coming hell. She had been staring at the clock by her bed for the past ten minutes, and was slightly surprised she hadn't been called. Yugi tended to call her a lot, but it didn't bother her – it was when he _didn't_ call that got her worried.

She sighed and slid off her bed, her feet meeting the soft peach carpet lining the floor. There was nothing else to do, so she may as well start getting ready for that stupid date. She entered the bathroom and turned on the water, quickly stepping under it and sighing at the sudden warmth.

She ran her fingers through her brown hair and grabbed the shampoo, wondering why she was actually bothering to put so much effort into her appearance. She didn't have to impress anyone. But then again, this might be the only time she'd get on the TV before her big break in dancing, so she had to look her best. She'd overheard a reporter saying that they'd be taping the whole date and telecasting it live, so if Kaiba didn't know, he'd be in for a big, unwelcome surprise.

As she started to wash out the shampoo she heard the doorbell ring, but she just ignored it. Like she was getting out of the shower just to see another hyper-obsessed Seto Kaiba fan, asking her to get his autograph. Yeah, right!

Shortly after the phone rang, and Téa rolled her eyes and sighed angrily. Great, now they had her phone number! It might've been one of her friends, but the answering machine would get it and she'd just call them back. They wouldn't mind.

A few minutes later Téa was just washing out the conditioner when the phone rang again. She ignored it again, but stopped when she heard the message starting to record. A familiar voice met her ears...

"Hey Téa, it's Yugi. Are you there? ...Well, I was just calling you to talk, seeing as how you sorta hung-up on me yesterday. If you don't wanna talk, it's fine with me... I'd just like to know what's going on, that's all."

As Téa listened to the message she moved faster than she ever had before. She shut off the water, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her, slipping and sliding towards the phone.

"If you feel like talking, you know my number. ...Please call me Téa. Well... Bye." Téa heard Yugi sigh, and then, just as she reached the phone, she heard him hang up.

She grabbed the phone and yelled "Hello?" into it, but all she heard was a dial tone. Téa slammed the phone back down and sat down on her bed, holding her head in her hands. She peered through her fingers at the answering machine and watched as the light flashed twice – two messages.

She pressed the button and listened as Elise's nervous voice told her that she needed to tell her something really important. Then Yugi's message came on, and she quickly deleted the messages from the tape. It was absolutely heartbreaking, what Yugi had said in his message, and she couldn't bear listening to it again. It made her feel so guilty, and she wondered why she wasn't calling him back? Was she... afraid?

_I'll call him later... After this date is over. I can't talk to him now, because everything will get complicated and people might start to suspect something's going on. _Téa literally had to drag herself away from the phone so she wouldn't call Yugi.

She then started to concentrate on other things, like what she was going to wear. She flicked through her wardrobe and pulled out a white evening gown, with matching shoes. She was going to try it on when she had a thought. Picking up her mobile, she dialed a number and waited for an answer.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hey Mokuba! It's Téa! Uh, could you do me a favor?"

The raven haired boy smiled at Téa's insecurity. She didn't need to ask so hesitantly. "Sure! What is it?"

"I need you to ask your brother what he's wearing tonight. Just... don't make it obvious I'm the one asking. Okay?"

Mokuba grinned. "Why do you want to know, Téa?"

"MOKUBA! Don't get any ideas! I just want to know so I don't turn up looking like an idiot when we go out! That's all! Now _please_ ask him!"

"Okay, okay. I was just kidding anyway. Hang on." Mokuba put the phone down and went to Seto's room, knocking gently on the door. "Big Brother? I was just wondering what you're going to wear for tonight. Can you show me?"

Seto looked up, curious. "Why Mokuba? Do you want to tell someone?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes, even though he was very surprised and worried that Seto had gotten his true motives on his first guess. "Come on Seto, who would I tell? Who would want to know?" Seto finally believed Mokuba, and he indicated over to the chair by the door. Mokuba walked to it and opened the zip-bag, finding a black, semi formal tuxedo. "Are you wearing a tie too?"

Seto shrugged his shoulders and returned to his work. Mokuba silently thanked him and hurried back to his room. He grabbed the phone and was about to tell Téa when he heard her humming softly on the other end. It was a beautiful yet sad melody that somehow filled him with a sense of hopelessness. He shook it off.

"Téa? You still there?"

"I'm here Mokuba. So did you find out what he's wearing?" Téa asked, her voice sounding slightly odd. It had an odd sound to it – the kind you get when you've been crying.

"Yeah. It's a black tux, but he's not going totally formal. I'm not sure if he's wearing a tie or not."

"Okay. Thanks a lot Mokuba. See ya." As Téa hung-up, she wondered why she had listened to the tape her mother had made. It always made her sad, made her think of what she was missing. She shook her head and looked back at the outfit she had chosen. The next time she looked at the clock, it was a quarter to five. Time was racing for their date to begin.

* * *

_That evening..._

Téa stood nervously before the mirror in her room, fixing her hair over and over. She tugged on the diamond necklace hanging around her neck and fixed her earrings. There was the sound of loud talking from outside, and she looked out the window to see many people, some with cameras, lining up outside her door. They were all there to see Seto arrive.

At the Kaiba Mansion, Seto had just finished getting dressed, and Mokuba was looking at him with an excited expression on his face. Seto himself felt a little nervous, but he shook it off as he said good-bye to Mokuba and headed downstairs. His chauffeur, Mr. Martin, held open the door of his limo for him, and Seto hopped in, still feeling slightly uneasy.

They drove for a few minutes before slowing, and finally stopping outside a decent looking house. Of course, he couldn't get a good look because the whole female population of Domino City were standing outside, some with video cameras and others with posters. And they all started screaming hysterically and pointing when Seto arrived in his limo.

Mr. Martin opened the door and Seto stepped out, quickly moving through the thralls of females to get to Téa's door. He slammed his fist against the door to notify Téa of his being there, and just heard footsteps running down the stairs. Then the door opened and Téa's blue eyes met his own.

He gave her a quick once over and had to admit that she looked like she had actually tried to look good for this publicity act. He forced a smile and took her hand as gently as possible, and led her down to the limo. He held the door open for her, which shocked her completely, before entering after she did.

"Well, you're certainly behaving like a perfect gentleman." Téa said under her breath, but Seto heard her.

"You won't get that honor, Gardner. I needed to look like I was trying in front of the public." Seto glared at her with ice-blue eyes. "I'm not going to be another person."

Téa rolled her eyes to herself. She should've known better than to think that Seto would try to be nice. What was she thinking? She looked down nervously at her dress and pulled at the end, keeping her legs together tight – Seto was sitting right across from her, and although he was staring out the window with his arms crossed, she still didn't want him to get an easy look.

They sat in silence for the whole trip, and when the limo finally started to slow, Téa looked out the window. The street wasn't lined with people, but a few stopped to look as the limo rolled up. Once again, Mr. Martin opened the door, and Seto stepped out first, turning to offer Téa a hand out. She took it and he pulled her out, letting her get a look at the restaurant they were having their date at. It was one of the most expensive (and famous) restaurants in the whole of Domino.

Seto must've caught the look of amazement on Téa's face, because as he took her in he spoke to her again. "You look like you've just been told that your friends don't care about your friendship speeches."

Téa ignored the comment as she stared at the design of the restaurant. "This place is so expensive! There's no way anyone could afford to eat here!"

"You're forgetting who you're with." Seto said simply as they walked into the dining room. Téa looked back at the people watching them, wanting to ask Seto what he was doing, but he didn't stop until he had led her to a table.

"Won't we get kicked out if you just barge in like this?" Téa asked, and Seto shot her a look of much discontent.

"Stop talking and _sit down_." He said angrily, pulling out a chair for her. Deciding to take his advice, Téa kept her mouth shut and sat down. She fiddled nervously with her necklace as she saw Seto take two menus from another table, before handing her one. The food was mainly Italian, which was new to her – she couldn't read the names, and she'd probably end up ordering something she didn't want to eat.

"Why did you enter?"

Téa looked up at Seto, a confused expression on her face. He wasn't looking at her, but she felt like he was watching her. "I didn't enter. Someone put my name in."

Seto let out a short laugh. "I still think it's a set up. I never saw your entry form." He caught the attention of the waiter, and pointed to something on the menu. The waiter nodded his head and left, prompting Téa to give Seto a look of suspicion. He ignored it however, and took a sip of water.

_How can he be calm? What happens if those news reporters get cameras in here? _Téa suddenly had a mental image of Seto having a complete spaz-attack, which made her smile to herself. But then a thought crossed her mind. _Sure, Kaiba's a celebrity, but even these rich people must get excited when around him! It's like they're all actors!_

The waiter returned with two plates, and he set one down before Téa. She looked at Seto, then at the plate. She poked what she thought was meat with her fork, and then heard Seto sigh angrily. She looked up to see him glaring at her. She sweat-dropped.

"Don't you know how to _eat_, Gardner?" he asked in an angry tone.

She glared right back at him. "Perhaps I'd be eating if I knew what it is! You probably ordered something that I'm allergic to!"

"Why would I bother knowing anything about you, Gardner? You're not worth my time." He could see the hurt on Téa's face, but he didn't care. "It's chicken with mushroom sauce, with salad on the side."

Téa nodded her head slowly, feeling a lump in her throat. He spoke with such hatred... _Nope, forget it Téa_._ He's not worth your tears. _She slowly started eating, keeping her eyes away from Seto.

The meal actually turned out to be quite tasty. Téa ate very slowly, taking in the meal, while Seto just seemed to shovel it in, not paying any attention to it at all. It was too quite, and Téa was constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure that they weren't alone. At that time, she noticed something.

"Why did you agree to this publicity act?" Téa asked, making Seto look up from his meal. He glared at her again, but she wouldn't be thrown off by it.

"I don't need a reason."

"Come on, Kaiba. If you're not going to tell me, I may as well guess..." She shot him a sly look, but he didn't look dazed. "Alright... We can't forget the fact that people use Mokuba to get to you; maybe they threatened him?" From the look Téa got, that wasn't correct. "Maybe you're doing this because you want the world to see that you're a _nice_ person."

Seto looked down at his plate, and when he found it already bare, he took a sip of water. Téa noticed this "retreat" and let a smile appear on her face. She knew she was right, and she leaned back in her chair and smiled like Kaiba – a cocky grin. Now for the final move...

"Come on Kaiba; you've got to look normal for the cameras."

Seto's head snapped up and he looked at her. She indicated with her head to the entrance hall, and Seto glanced in that direction. His eyes widened as he saw three cameras, all pointed in their direction. _They never said anything about _this_! _Seto thought, and he stood up. With one glance at Téa she stood, and he led her out of the restaurant, just holding off the urge to destroy the cameras (1).

The limo was still out there, and when Seto checked his watch, he found that an hour had passed. It was still early, but he felt sick from simply being around Téa. Forcing the gentleman act again, he opened the door and let her in.

After another uncomfortable limo ride, they arrived back at Téa's house. She wanted to say something to Seto – thank you, or, even though you were a total dickhead the whole time I enjoyed it, but she couldn't say anything. So she settled for something else. "Say hi to Mokuba for me."

Seto didn't speak as he headed back to the limo, and he didn't give Téa one look as he left. Not that Téa cared, anyway. She went inside, and collapsed on the bed from exhaustion. The next few days would be annoying as hell.

* * *

A/N: Wow. Longest chapter I've EVER written! So forgive me if it's a bit crap, if there are mistakes and anything else negative about this chapter. Yeah... So... I don't know when I'll update next, so don't flame if it takes ages. If you thought it was a crap chapter, tell me so... I think it was crap, chapter 2 is much better. I hope the characters haven't gone "oc", if they have, tell me.

(1) Seto didn't want to wreck the cameras because he knew he would have to pay for the damage repair. So that's why he didn't wreck them.

Once again, I must ask for the reviewer's help... What happens to Yami Yugi at the end of the Battle City season? Did he go to Egypt or get his own body or something? If you know, please tell me. Thanks in advance.

Well, please review!


	4. Chapter Four: The Confrontations

A/N: I have returned. After a _verrrry_ long break. I apologise to all those readers out there. But as I'm sure some of you know, it's hard to write something when your muse is trying to get you to write something else. I won't give any excuses. So I'll go to review replies instead.

**Review Replies:**

**thefutureMrs.Kaiba: **Thanks for your support and your review.

**Miryoku: **I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reviewing.

**Dustbunny3: **Elise should be telling Tèa about her involvement next chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for your review.

**Little Atemu (reviews for chapters one and three): **Poor Yami indeed. I'm missing out on a lot, it seems; we still haven't finished the Battle City season yet. Thanks for telling me what happens. This whole "Win A Date" idea is really popular, isn't it! I like Yami/Tèa pairings as well. Thanks for your review!

**toboewolf7: **Thanks for your support! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks for reviewing.

**Marin M: **Thanks for telling me what happened. Thanks for the review.

**CWolf2: **Thanks for your support. I'll make sure that they won't suddenly fall in love; I don't like fics like that. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and thanks for your review.

**Obscured Illusions: **I'm not a big fan of Seto/Serenity. Somehow it doesn't seem possible. But anyway, thanks for your support, and thanks for reviewing!

**Azurite: **I haven't seen the movie, so I have to make sure I do someday. But yes, they'll have to learn to like one another eventually. I'll try to fix the choppiness, although I'm not quite sure how. Thanks for reviewing.

**Whimsical Lady: **Power to the Pacific – that sounds so _cool_! Thanks for your supporting words; they were very nice to hear/read. I certainly took them to heart. Thanks for your review.

**LuvinAnime: **Sorry, I'm not very good at quick updates, as I'm sure you can see. But I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. And yes, they'll fall in love slowly (I hope I can make it slow). Thanks for reviewing.

**KeikoGurl: **LOL, I'm glad you liked the date! Thanks for your review!

**Ana: **I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for the review!

**Mokuba's Official Glomper: **Tèa's going to kill her pal in the next chapter (not literally, of course, we can't have the main character becoming a murderer!). Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter and I hope you enjoy this one. Thanks for reviewing!

**legansimay: **Thanks for your review, but did you mean 'please review' or 'please update'?

**Lucifer's Lair: **Thanks for your words of encouragement and your review. I hope you like this chapter! (Cool pen-name, by the way)

**blah: **_Congratulations_, blah! You are my first official flamer! Thanks for making me aware of how my story was! I hope to be given your amazing point of view on _many_ more occasions!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! And I won't pretend to either.

And now, without further ado, please read on!

* * *

**Win A Date With Seto Kaiba!**

**Chapter Four: The Confrontations**

"Hey, look! It's Kaiba's _girlfriend_!"

"How come you guys didn't kiss?"

"How was life in the limelight Tèa? What's like being back in the real world?"

Tèa quickly walked through the crowds, dodging the remarks being thrown at her. It was her first day back since going on that date with Mr. Seto Kaiba himself, and so far everything had turned out just the way she had expected. Stage one: taunts from jealous fan girls.

But Tèa didn't care about those annoying jealous girls. For one thing she was late for her first class of the day, courtesy of her stupid alarm clock that ran out of battery power. Another thing was that she desperately wanted to clear the whole mess up with Yugi. She hadn't been able to talk with him since he called her and left that message on her answering machine.

Finding her locker, she searched frantically for the key (1) before realising something. She had left it behind; yet another thing to add to her list of how bad this day was going. She slammed her palm against the metal and sighed in anger. She'd have to hope that they weren't starting any major work.

Remembering how late she was, Tèa left the locker behind and hurried to the classroom. She rushed through the hallways, noticing that people already in their classrooms were staring at her. She ignored them and inwardly sighed with relief as she realised that her classroom was just around the corner. Turning said corner, she abruptly slammed into something, which knocked her backwards onto the floor.

_I hope it wasn't the door! _Tèa thought, and opened one eye slightly to see what she had walked into. She saw blue pants, and instantly began her angry rant. "Watch where you're walking! You could've hurt me!"

"You were the one who was practically running, Gardner. Why don't _you_ watch where you're going?"

Tèa froze when she heard that voice. Slowly she looked up and saw the one, the only, Seto Kaiba. She had to crane her neck just so she could see his face. _This must be how all his competitors feel when they challenge him. Like worthless ants in front of a giant. _Tèa narrowed her eyes at her own thought and got to her feet.

"Move it, Kaiba. I don't have time to deal with you." Tèa said angrily, which made Seto smile.

"What, afraid you'll be late?" He looked over his shoulder, then at his watch. "I didn't intend on spending any more time with you anyway, Gardner. I have better places to be."

Tèa ground her teeth together as Seto moved around her and started to walk away. She watched him for a moment before shouting out at him. "I have a first name you know!"

He didn't even bother to turn around when he replied. "So do I."

Tèa ground her teeth together again to stop herself from letting out a string of swear words. She stormed through the door but stopped when she saw that the whole class had heard her little "chat" with Seto. She instantly went red, and looked over to where the teacher's desk was. There was no one sitting behind it.

Slightly confused, she walked over to where Yugi was sitting. He gave her a fleeting glance, slightly uncomfortable. "Hey, Yugi? Where's the teacher?" Tèa asked.

"I think he's sick. We have a substitute, but she's not here yet." Yugi said quietly, while Tèa fell over anime style. She had rushed and got all worried for nothing! This was definitely turning out to be the worst day of her life.

She sighed and headed over to her desk, where she slumped in her chair and rested her head on one of her hands. She looked over at Yugi and saw him quickly looking away. _I've got to talk to him and clear everything up._ She opened her mouth to say his name and get his attention, but at that moment their substitute teacher decided to arrive. She was a ditzy thing that didn't seem to care about what they did; she simply sat at the desk, filing and inspecting her nails.

"Yugi, can we talk?" she asked, getting no response. She moved slightly to see what he was doing, then called him again. He looked up from the Millennium Puzzle, which had been holding his attention.

"Did you say something, Tèa?"

"Yeah. I said we have to talk. We need to straighten some things out before we end up ruining our friendship." Tèa said, never taking her eyes off Yugi. He seemed really uncomfortable. He nodded his head, but looked back at his Puzzle.

Tèa was silent for the rest of the lesson. While everybody else was talking or watching the duel between Joey and Tristan, Tèa was staring off into space. Yugi sometimes looked over her way, but she was too absorbed in her thoughts to notice. She almost didn't hear the bell when it rung.

Yugi tapped her on the shoulder, and she almost jumped out of her skin. Tèa apologised and got out of her chair, Yugi waiting for her at the classroom door. Then the two began to walk, in silence, neither looking at each other.

"We're acting like a pair of nervous teens on a date! Come on! We've gotta talk!" Tèa finally broke the silence, which made Yugi look up at her.

"Well, what do you wanna talk about?" he asked. They both turned a corner and headed out into the open areas, away from the school buildings, where students were duelling, talking and playing sports. As they passed a group of gossiping girls a few turned and saw Yugi and Tèa walking together.

"So Tèa, you have a taste for pro duellists! You've gone from Kaiba to Yugi – who's next? Joey Wheeler?" one of the girls shouted out. The rest of the group laughed while Tèa narrowed her eyes, but she managed to keep her temper under control.

As they found a place void of people, Tèa turned to look at Yugi. "We have to talk about the whole Kaiba incident."

* * *

Seto sat at a table, his laptop once again open. He was inside, knowing that if he had gone out then he wouldn't have been able to get any work done. As he casually typed away, finding his Corporation's stocks, he saw a few girls outside staring at him. He sighed to himself and shot them an angry glare, and some of the girls ducked out of sight, trying to hide but failing miserably. 

He got up and approached the windows and some of the girls' faces' light up with excitement, but he only pulled down the blinds. He heard their cries of disappointment and couldn't help smiling to himself. Seto then returned to his laptop and looked at how his company was going.

_That new "duellist aid" we're producing is costing us a lot, _he thought, finding the statistics of their new product. _If it doesn't pay off, a lot of jobs will be lost. I hope that the partners know that if we lose money from this, they'll be ones to go first._

After checking a few more things, Seto put the laptop away and headed for the cafeteria. He had to eat, of course, but he wasn't going to eat _there_. Too many prying eyes – no, wait, too many annoying girls with crushes who would try to throw themselves at him. He had already been close to being sick after that date with Tèa, and he knew that if any of those girls tried anything, he really would be sick.

After getting "lunch" from the cafeteria, Seto headed for one of the remote places of the school grounds. It was away from all the classrooms and the people, somewhere he could sit and think. But of course, while he was walking there he got quite a few stares from the girls.

His retreat was up on a hill under a tree, so he got to stay cool and watch what was going on around him. When he wasn't busy thinking up new strategies to destroy Yugi and the mutt with, naturally. Speaking of Yugi, the "greatest duellist" was talking with the cheerleader. He wondered what they were talking about, but eventually decided it wasn't worth his thoughts.

He leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. He was slowly relaxing when there was a sudden ringing, and Seto dug around in his bag for a few moments before finding his mobile.

"Seto Kaiba speaking."

"_Hey Seto, its Mokuba." _came the voice from the other end of the line.

"Mokuba? Shouldn't you be at school?" Seto asked, staring to feel concerned.

"_Well, the driver called in sick and no one else was there to take me, and for some odd reason the school bus didn't come. And you've told me not to use public transport 'cause it's unsafe, so I stayed home!"_

Seto ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He had told the bus driver (rather rudely) that he didn't need to come by the mansion any more because they'd have a driver take Mokuba to school. Why there wasn't a spare driver was a mystery to him. "Just…stay home today Mokuba. I'll figure out what to do when I get back."

"_Seto?"_

"Yes?"

"_Two things: we need a new maid A.S.A.P., and try not to get too stressed. Bye!"_

Seto stared at the phone for a moment before shaking his head to himself and putting it back in his bag.

Once again, he closed his eyes and hoped that he wouldn't be interrupted during his rest.

* * *

"So that's the whole, true story, Yugi. I didn't enter the competition, and I wasn't the one who hung up on you. I'd never do something like that to one of my best friends." Yugi grinned, and Tèa was glad to see him happy. 

"Well I'm glad we got everything sorted out," Yugi said. "I missed you being around and keeping us all together."

Tèa smiled, and the two began walking. As they were heading towards the soccer oval, where they thought Joey and Tristan would be, they spotted Seto sitting under his tree.

"And there's Mister Sunshine now." She said under her breath, glaring up at the figure.

"I'm surprised he isn't using his laptop." Yugi said, and Tèa almost laughed.

"It looks like he's starting to become more human! Now all we need to do is get him out in the sun and talking normally with other people and we'll have a real person on our hands!"

The two continued walking to the soccer oval, not looking at Seto again. Eventually they found Joey and Tristan, who instantly noticed that their friends had made up.

"Great! Now I have someone else I can beat, 'part from Tristan o' course!" Joey had yelled, and it earned him a headlock from Tristan.

"I could beat you with my eyes closed, Joey!"

Tèa smiled and laughed along with Yugi, happy that they had sorted everything out. Joey and Tristan continued wrestling before they finally stopped and decided to settle their debate with yet another duel. While they were duelling, Tèa looked behind her and watched Seto for a moment. For some odd reason, she found his peaceful state rather mesmerizing, and she was only drawn out of her reverie by Joey's shouts of triumph; he had beaten Tristan faster than ever before.

_I must've been staring at Kaiba for a few minutes then_, she thought. _Joey always beats Tristan in just over five minutes, and if he went quicker than before… _

But Tèa brought herself out of her thoughts and concentrated on her friends. She wasn't going to let another incident involving Kaiba destroy her friendship like it almost did before.

"Hey Tèa, we're going to the arcade after school. Do you wanna come?" Yugi asked, and suddenly Joey leapt to his feet.

"Yeah! Come with us Tèa! You can whoop all our butts on tha dance machine!"

She laughed. "If I can't beat you at duelling then at least I can beat you at dancing, huh? Yeah, I guess I'll come. But I'll meet you guys there; there's some stuff I have do to at home first."

For the rest of their lunch they sat there, watching the soccer game or laughing at Joey's crazy stunts. Once or twice Tèa looked over to see if Seto had moved, but she didn't allow herself to get concerned when he hadn't changed positions. Eventually the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch, and they all headed unhappily towards their classrooms.

Tèa looked over at Seto and saw that he hadn't moved at all. Suddenly feeling worried, she told the group that she'd meet them at class before she headed for the hill. As she approached she heard the sounds of him sleeping, and by the looks of it, he needed as much rest as he could get. There were dark marks under his eyes and he looked very pale.

_Well there's a reason for that, _Tèa thought, trying to figure out a way to gently wake him. _He's a vampire! He rarely ever goes out in the sun! It can't be good for him! The only times I've seen him out in the day is when he's running around one of those stupid duelling tournaments. No wonder Mokuba gets worried about him._

She silently knelt before him and gently poked him on the shoulder. He didn't open his eyes, but merely swatted her hand away. Tèa couldn't help grinning when she thought of how childish it seemed. Perfect ammunition for blackmail, but knowing Seto Kaiba, if she tried anything she'd be facing a lawsuit or something of the like.

She poked him again, a little harder this time, and she heard him mutter something under his breath. The next moment he had opened his eyes a fraction, and was suddenly on his feet.

"What do you think you're doing, Gardner?!"

She looked up at him in shock before her anger rose. Getting to her feet, she allowed her angry rant to start. "For your information _Mr Kaiba_, I was waking you up so you wouldn't be late for class! I really don't know why I bother sometimes! I should stop wasting my good intentions on you!" She stormed away, leaving Seto standing there staring after her.

He checked to see if anything was missing from his bag, and finding that nothing was gone, he left his special spot and headed towards the classrooms. When he got there everyone was already inside, but the teacher hadn't arrived. Quite a few pairs of eyes went from him, looking a little bit annoyed, to Tèa, who looked completely irritated. Some of the girls put two and two together and giggled, but stopped instantly when they saw the death glare Tèa was sending them.

Tèa spent the rest of the lesson feeling very angry at Kaiba. She ignored him and didn't look at him because she knew she'd be too tempted to hurt him. She rejoiced when the end of the school day came, leaving the classroom with the gang who were just as eager to be away from Kaiba.

Tristan, Joey and Yugi all headed off to the arcade while Tèa went home. As soon as she got inside she dropped her bag and kicked it with all her strength. Kaiba pissed her off so much it wasn't funny! And those stupid giggling girls in her class…

With a sigh she headed upstairs and got changed, before heading back down to the kitchen. On the table were three envelopes that hadn't been opened, but she already knew what was inside them. Bills, bills, bills… she sighed again as she grabbed her bag and left the house, heading for the arcade and her friends.

She really needed a job. Her friends didn't know how much of a financial mess she was in.

* * *

(1) I wasn't sure if the lockers were key-locked or combination locked, so I just made it key. Sorry if it's incorrect. 

A/N: Ta da! Chapter four! Sorry if it wasn't what you were expecting, but it's hard to write when your muse isn't inspiring you. Chapter five will be up soon… I promise!

Until next time, please review, but no flames!


	5. Chapter Five: The Problem With Jobs

A/N: I promised I'd update quick, so here's the new chapter. I hope I didn't take too long.

It's once again been proven that free-to-air cartoons suck majorly. We finally got through all the Duellist Kingdom episodes and were making our way through the Battle City eps quite nicely. We get to the point where we stopped last time, and THEY CANCEL THE SHOW! At this rate I'll never see what happens… (sob) and they also decided to sack the hosts of the show, who were close to their ten-year anniversary… (Begins muttering angrily about how unfair it is…)

Anyway, big congrats to **Nightfall2525**, who was my 50th reviewer! Woohoo! (Sets off fire-works)

**Review replies:**

**toboewolf7: **Yes, sorry about the waiting time between updates. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you like this one. Thanks for reviewing.

**Lucifer's Lair: **Don't worry, I'll continue. Thanks for your review.

**SilentMonkGirl:** Hopefully I didn't keep you waiting long. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks for reviewing.

**Nightfall2525:** I can't tell you what happens, you'll just have to wait and see! Thanks for your review.

**Bradybunch4529: **I'm glad you're enjoying the story, it means a lot. I hope you like the chapter, and thanks for reviewing.

**CWolf2: **I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one too. Thanks for your review.

**Gabbi: **Your idea is a good one (you weren't out of place ), but I couldn't use it in this chapter; you see, I had pre-written it. I'll think over where to add it in, though, believe me! Thanks for the idea and for reviewing!

**glowing-ice: **Yeah, Tèa/Seto pairings rule! I'm glad you like the story. Thanks for your review.

**peeps: **So you know what's happening next? You must be psychic! I don't think I took as long as I did last time, but that was only because I had writer's block. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and thanks for reviewing.

**Yami'sMineSoBackOff: **Well, she's a good person. But if you're referring to how she woke him up, I'd like to think that most people would be kind enough to do something like that. I'd be kinda worried if I saw someone under a tree, unmoving, a while after the bell went! Anyway, thanks for your review. (Cool pen name, by the way)

**sumone: **Thanks for your kind words. Here's the update; I hope you like the chapter! Thanks for reviewing.

**DragonZHell (for review of Chapter 3): **Thanks for the info on what happens. LOL, I'm glad someone agrees with me about the expensive cameras! Thanks for your review.

This chapter is dedicated to my best friend, Jessica. Thanks for putting up with me, thanks for reading every chapter of this fic before I posted it, thanks for everything. Thanks for being just the great person you are; it's a pleasure being your friend.

* * *

**Win A Date With Seto Kaiba!**

**Chapter Five: The Problems with Jobs**

"Yes, I'm inquiring about the ad you placed in the paper. You see I really, really need this job."

"_A lot of people really, really need jobs. Tell me why I should give this one to you and I'll consider employing you."_

"Well, er, I'm responsible! And I'm very polite; you won't _ever_ see me being rude to a customer! And I'm willing to work whatever shifts you tell me! _Please_ let me have this job!"

"_Well, seeing as how you asked so nicely… Come in tomorrow for an interview."_

"Really?"

"_Yeah, why not. Come in for the interview and if all goes well, you've got the job. I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Gardner."_

Tèa hung up the phone and sighed. She was going to miss out on a whole _week_ of school if she ended up getting the job. If it wasn't paying so well she probably wouldn't have enquired about it.

_I wonder how long I'll have to keep it up, switching between school and job. If I get the job that is… What'll everyone think when I don't turn up for school? What'll they say when I tell them I'll have to drop school to get paid so everything doesn't get taken away from me? _Tèa held her head in her hands. _I shouldn't have let this get so out of control. I should have gotten a job earlier. I shouldn't have kept taking those dance lessons._

Slowly, she headed upstairs, collapsing on her bed. It wasn't a bad job, to tell the truth; she'd be working in one of those bookstore/café places if she was lucky. Where they put her she didn't really care, as long as they respected her need to work.

She looked over to her bedside table and checked the clock. It was six-thirty but still fairly light outside, so Tèa decided to do something she didn't do a lot. She headed downstairs and quickly made two sandwiches before she left the house and began walking towards Domino Park. She would watch the sun set and hope that it would calm any nerves she had about tomorrow.

* * *

Seto Kaiba sat in his office, Mokuba sitting in a chair beside him. They were going through all the women who had applied for the maid job, but so far none had made a good impression. Mokuba had the final word, seeing as how the maid would be taking care of him mostly.

They had only gone through three applicants but Seto was already getting annoyed. It was almost routine; they'd come in, talk about their qualifications, flirt with him and then try to get in the good books with Mokuba. It sickened him. Surely they knew they weren't going to be employed if they acted like that?

The fourth applicant came strolling in, placing her resumé on Seto's desk like it was something completely delicate. He had a quick look over it and had to admit that this "Mrs. Lucas" had some decent previous jobs. Then he began asking questions and wondered if the routine would start again.

"Why did you apply for this job?"

"Well, I just _love_ children, and I haven't had a job _this_ serious for _ages_!" Seto almost laughed out loud; he knew for sure brother that his little brother wouldn't want someone like this looking after him.

"What would you say is your best area in either childcare or housework?"

"Well I'm a good cook, and I'm very capable in looking after the house and garden. And of course," she gave Mokuba a sickly sweet smile here, "I'm great with children."

Seto looked at Mokuba and felt sorry for the poor kid. He had a look of absolute horror on his face and looked up at his big brother with pleading in his eyes. Seto decided that perhaps it was time to put an end to all of this, so he shook Mrs. Lucas's hand, told her he'd get back to her and let her leave. Then he went to his intercom and told his assistant that if any more applicants were sent in then she'd be fired.

"I think that last one would've strangled me if I did something wrong." Mokuba said, watching as Seto put all four resumés into the paper shredder.

Seto sighed and sat down in his chair again. "She did look a little threatening, didn't she?" He looked at his schedule for a moment before looking at Mokuba. "I think I owe you something after putting you through that session of torture. Let's go out to eat right now; we'll have whatever you want and eat it where ever you want."

Mokuba's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? You really mean it Seto?"

He nodded his head. "I don't think I could work after going through that. All those horrible images of applicants would be far too distracting."

Mokuba grinned as Seto picked up his briefcase. The older Kaiba brother laid a hand on the shoulder of his brother and led him out of the office. Almost all the employees gave him an odd look as they walked past, but Seto simply glared at them and they instantly got back to work.

After they left KaibaCorp, Mokuba took his brother to his favourite fast food restaurant, but they ordered take-away instead of eat-in. Mokuba knew how people reacted around Seto, and how his brother hated it, so he decided on another place to eat. He led Seto away from the restaurant and towards Domino Park, which had been his favourite place to eat.

"You know this park is filled with lunatics at night, Mokuba. Don't ever come here without somebody's supervision first." Seto murmured, and Mokuba looked up at his brother.

"Well it's not night yet, and anyway, you're here! No one would even try to get me!" He kept walking, still looking around the park. "And not all the people who come here are lunatics, Seto. Tèa's not a lunatic!"

Seto stopped and looked in the direction his brother was looking in. And sure enough, there she was; standing on the bridge over the river, leaning over the railing and looking into the water, eating a sandwich.

* * *

Tèa stared gloomily into the water below her. She'd already gone through one sandwich and was slowly picking through the other. Inside her head she was visualising all the things her friends would do and say when she told them about the job, and her financial mess. She knew they wouldn't do the extreme and leave her, but they'd probably be angry that she hadn't told them earlier. They'd surely want to help her.

She sighed deeply and chewed on a piece of the sandwich. But the next thing that happened brightened her up quite a bit; she heard the pounding of feet and she turned to see Mokuba rushing towards her. He was managing to run and not drop any of the take-away meal he was holding, and he looked particularly happy to see her.

"Tèa!" he shouted, embracing her as soon as he got close enough.

"Hey Mokuba! What are you doing here?" she hugged him back before he pulled away with a giant grin on his face.

"Well Seto was tired of working so he took me out for tea and we decided to come here! Then I saw you standing alone and I thought I'd come over and say hello!"

"Well that was very sweet of you." She said, rubbing him on the head affectionately. She looked over her shoulder and saw Seto standing by a park bench, his arms crossed over his chest, standing as still as a statue. "Why is Mr. Grumpy over there so angry?"

Mokuba looked over and saw she was looking at his brother. "He didn't want me to say hello." He said with another grin.

"Well that's just rude!" Mokuba nodded. "I think he didn't want you coming over here because then he'd have to come and say hello as well."

"Why wouldn't he want to say hello to you?"

Tèa grinned and remembered that day's events. "I think your brother's scared of me." She whispered to him.

Mokuba laughed. "You're too nice to be scary, Tèa!"

"Everyone knows that I can get loud when I get angry, Mokuba. Maybe your brother's scared of getting yelled at!"

"Yeah right. Seto's not scared of anything! I know that for a fact!"

She looked over her shoulder at him again, before turning to look in the river. "I'm sure he's scared of something." She sighed softly and continued watching the water.

"Tèa, is something wrong?" Mokuba asked softly, concerned.

_If only you knew how much was wrong, Mokuba, _she thought. She looked up over at him and forced a smile. "Nah, it's all good. Don't worry."

Seto chose that moment to come over to drag his brother away. "Come on Mokuba; let's find another place to eat." He looked at Tèa for a moment, noting how tired she looked, before trying to move his brother away.

Mokuba smiled at Tèa. "I'll see ya later Tèa. Don't stay out here too long; this place is filled with lunatics at night!"

Tèa laughed and said her goodbyes. She watched as the pair left, before she stood up straight and headed for home.

* * *

The interview went very well. There had only been a few applicants and it seemed that all the others were bad, because when she went in the boss of everything seemed annoyed. After only a few minutes of talk he shook her hand and told her to start tomorrow, working from nine-thirty till three-thirty. That's was her shift for the whole week, except for Sunday.

* * *

Tèa's first day didn't start out that bad. She put new batteries in her alarm clock so it would work and she made it to work on time, but her new boss didn't look too impressed with her age.

"You look like you're just out of school!" he said, and she smiled nervously. "It's no big deal if you're still in school, but I'll just have to cut down your hours so you can still go."

"No, no, it's fine." She assured him, and so with a shrug of his shoulders he led her around the place. He gave her a quick tour of the bookstore so she'd know where everything was, just in case he put her to work there, before he led her to the café and got her working as a waitress. She wasn't exactly happy about this arrangement, but it was better than being behind the counter; she hated maths and anything to do with it.

She spent the rest of the day getting used to everything. She managed to not stuff up (she was very proud of herself), and it seemed like the hours just sped by. Eventually, though, her shift ended, and the other group of employees came in to work. Tèa realised just how popular this place was and was amazed that she managed to get the job.

As soon as she got home she checked her mobile for any missed calls. She had left it home because she knew one of her friends would call, wondering about her whereabouts. And sure enough, when she checked it there was one missed call; from Yugi, of course.

She quickly called him back and grinned when she heard his nervous voice answer the phone. "Hey Yugi, what's up?"

"_Tèa! Hey, are you alright? You didn't show up for school today and I thought something might've happened…"_ Yugi said, trying to hide his concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. When I woke up this morning I was feeling a little sick, you know? Lucky I stayed home, because I kinda threw up…"

"_Oh, right… Well, it's good to know you're okay."_

"So did I miss out on anything today?"

And with that Yugi was off explaining how Joey had instantly assumed that her absence had been Kaiba's fault. He told her how Joey had gone seeking out Kaiba and demanded to know what he had done to her before he was ultimately dragged away from the scene. He also told her that she'd missed out on quite a lot of work, and that she'd have to do quite a lot of catching up tomorrow.

Tèa smiled sadly when he said that and she almost told him that she wouldn't be going tomorrow either, but she decided not to. He'd end up calling her tomorrow again anyway, and she'd just explain that some of the bug had stayed. She didn't know if he would believe her though, but she hoped he would.

Eventually she said goodbye, and spent the rest of the afternoon lying on her bed listening to the radio. When dinnertime came she went downstairs and made herself another simple sandwich, before heading back upstairs to go to sleep. She lay awake for a few hours, trying to keep everything sorted in her mind, but then she'd end up remembering what a giant mess she was in. And with those less than comforting thoughts, she finally fell asleep.

* * *

It was the end of the week, a Friday, and the gang had hardly failed to notice that Tèa had been away almost every day. Sure, she had given Yugi reasons when he called to ask if she was okay, but when he told everyone else the reasons they didn't believe them. So, they decided they had to take action, and they went to Mai on Thursday night for a plan.

"Here's an idea; _ask her_ what she's been doing to skip school!" she had said when they asked for her help.

"But what if it's something so bad that she can't even talk about it?" Tristan said, sounding overly dramatic about it all.

Mai sighed deeply and looked at the group standing before her. "Maybe…you guys could hide outside her house and then follow her when she leaves?"

Joey stared at her for a moment before almost loosing it. "Dat's it?! Dat's tha best ya got?!"

"Well at least I've come up with something, Joey!" she shouted back at him.

Joey looked like he was going to fight back before Tristan casually stamped on his foot. Yugi ignored Joey and turned to Mai. "Thanks for the plan; I reckon we'll give it a shot, seeing as how it's the only plan we have. Thanks for the help."

So on Friday morning they were all positioned around Tèa's house, hiding in various bushes. Mai had decided that she'd tag along as well. They watched, as at half past eight Tèa left, carrying a small bag, walking at a fair pace to where ever she had been going these past few days. Slowly the group came out of their hiding places and followed her, making sure they were a fair distance away so she wouldn't recognise them if she turned around.

They followed her into the heart of Domino City, where she walked past a few larger buildings before heading into one. Joey, who had been too far back to see her enter, abruptly shouted, "She disappeared!". To which Tristan replied, "She went inside a building, you idiot!".

Slowly and cautiously, the group edged towards the building. They peeked inside and saw Tèa walking into the café section of the shop. They watched as she started setting things up and walked around, helping the other employees already inside.

"Tèa's working here?" Yugi said in disbelief, looking through the window at the rest of the shop.

"Dis is one o' tha most expensive stores in all o' Domino! What's Tèa doin' workin' here?" Joey said, looking up at the title of the store.

"Well she must have a good reason if she's skipping school to come here…" Mai said, wondering what the reason was.

"She's not gonna be working all day," Tristan said, stretching out. "We could probably wait until she gets off her shift and ask her what's goin' on. I don't care about missing school for one day."

So the group waited around until three-thirty, when Tèa's shift ended. She came out of the store and saw them all there, and instantly knew she was in trouble. "Oh, hi guys! What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"We were about to ask you the same question, Tèa." Yugi said, looking up at her with eyes full of questioning. "Why didn't you tell us that you got a job?"

"Yugi, I couldn't tell you 'cause I knew you'd want to try and help me. This is my problem and I wanted to sort it out by myself." Tèa said, looking at the ground.

"If you didn't want our help we would've understood. It just hurts that you didn't consider telling us the truth. We were really worried about you Tèa." Yugi said, and he knew how bad Tèa felt, so he stopped. "I'm going to head back. I'll see you later."

Slowly everyone left and Tèa thought she was alone until she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Mai was still standing there.

"Don't worry about it, Tèa. I'm sure everything will work out just fine. But don't forget, if you ever need help, we'll always be here for you." She offered a comforting smile, making Tèa feel a bit better, before she too left.

Slowly the brunette began walking home, feeling that the events that had just occurred had put a serious damper on her day.

* * *

It was a Saturday, the last day of Tèa's working week. Apparently the boss had witnessed the whole scene with her friends and offered a change of shifts. Tèa decided she needed a change, so she took him up on his offer and got a much better deal than the last one.

Instead of working in the café again, she had been moved in to the book section. All she had to do for that day was go through the newly arrived books and help put them on the shelves. She had thought it could get no worse, but of course, somehow it always managed to.

Tèa had just begun her shift when Elise came into the store. She was looking fairly nervous, and when Tèa said hello to her it looked like she had to keep herself from running right out of there.

"What's up Elise?"

"I have to tell you something Tèa. Before I chicken out." She took a deep breath, and then made her confession. "Iwastheonewhoenteredyouintothecompetition!" And after saying that she bolted out before she could see Tèa's reaction.

It took her a moment to figure out what she had actually said, but when she realised it, she was glad Elise had ran out of there. If she was still in front of her, Tèa couldn't be held responsible for her actions. But the next time she saw her, she would be in for it. For sure.

The next "pleasant" surprise came just after lunch. She had been restocking the shelves in the electrical section of the store when she heard a familiar voice ask a question behind her.

"Excuse me miss, my brother's laptop has been stuffing up lately and I was wondering if – TÈA?!"

"Mokuba?!"

"Gardner?!"

Tèa turned around and saw both the Kaiba brothers standing right in front of her. Mokuba looked surprised while Seto had a mixed expression – shock mixed with amusement mixed with a look that suggested he had a bad taste in his mouth. Tèa glared at him and turned away, taking her box of books and walking off to another section. Mokuba followed her out of extreme curiosity and Seto followed for the entertainment.

"Tèa, why are you working here?" Mokuba asked, standing right next to his friend.

"I had no choice in the matter, Mokuba." She muttered, still placing books on the shelves, trying not to pay them any attention.

"So _this_ is where you've been _all week_?" Seto asked, still looking amused. "At least the mutt will be happy to know I didn't run away with you, as he obviously thought." She glared at him and angrily brushed past him, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. "**_Why_** did you take this job?"

She looked at him with pure malice in her eyes. "Not all of us have money to fall back on, Kaiba. I have a financial problem and I have to be able to sort it all out." Suddenly she stopped and pulled herself free of his grip, and shook her head. "_Why_ am I even _telling_ you?" With that she walked away, angry that she had told him.

Mokuba watched her retreating form for a moment, before turning to his brother, a glint in his eyes. Seto realised what he was getting at and quickly began shaking his head.

"There's no way, Mokuba, no way!"

"Aw, come on Seto! Don't you see what she has to do? Can't you at least give her a chance?" The younger Kaiba pleaded, looking up at his brother with puppy-dog eyes.

"It's absolutely out of the question, Mokuba! There's no way I'd even think about hiring her!"

* * *

A/N: Hmm, now does he really mean that? Sorry if I sort of left you hanging there, but that's all I planned on writing. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Just in case people got confused, the person Tèa had the interview was the Big Boss, and the one in the store who wasn't impressed with her age was…well, the boss of the store. Sorry, I'm not too good with proper terms.

Please forgive any mistakes. I don't mean it, it's just I've been very tired lately. Tell me of my mistakes and I'll fix them.

Please review, but remember, no flames! See you at chapter six.


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